The Phase III study (MPACT) was a large, international study that determined that survival with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine is superior to gemcitabine alone. nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine is a new standard for treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (Von Hoff et al 2013). However, although this study shows promise for substantially improving OS in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, insensitivity to these agents is likely to occur due to resistance to apoptosis, which has been observed in laboratory studies to occur for most of the cytotoxic agents used to treat pancreatic cancer in the past (Westphal and Kaltoff 2003). Exploitation of the apoptosis pathway may ultimately provide more effective, less toxic anticancer therapy that selectively circumvents treatment-resistant pathways.